Trust your eyes. During the past week, more than 200,000 visitors to Coors Field have seen something more beautiful than we have ever witnessed from the baseball team that calls LoDo home.

The Rockies have never had a pitching staff this good. And, as a result, Colorado has never had a better chance of winning the World Series.

After the Rockies beat Oakland 3-2 on Sunday without their offensive A game, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said something so significant I asked him to repeat it, giving CarGo a chance to back down from his claim.

“It’s all about the pitching. The starting rotation is doing a tremendous job,” insisted Gonzalez, who first donned purple pinstripes in 2009. Colorado’s starting pitching, he added, “is the best I’ve seen in 10 years.”

It’s not boasting if the statistics have your back. During the month of July, Colorado starting pitchers posted a 1.71 earned run average, the lowest ERA by the Rockies’ starting rotation during any single month since the first pitch was thrown in LoDo.

This ain’t no summer camp. The Rockies have quit fooling around. After sweeping a three-game series against Oakland, there’s no hotter team in baseball. Since June 19, Colorado has won 23 of 32 games.

“Our guys come to the park, expecting to win, no matter who they play,” Rockies manager Bud Black said.

Although the franchise is more than 25 years old, we often treat the Rockies like kids, not to be taken seriously. I heard the question repeatedly last week from reporters who dropped by to give the Rox a condescending pat on the head, asking if it was a great honor and challenge to play Houston, the reigning world champion.

Black never lets anyone see him sweat. But you could feel him bristle at the lack of respect. He suggested asking Astros manager A.J. Hinch’s evaluation of the Rockies, confident his Houston counterpart would declare Colorado has a pretty fair country ballclub of its own.

When Broncos kicker Brandon McManus and tight end Jeff Heuerman showed up to watch a little batting practice during the Astros series, Black invited them to return in September. Why?

“We’re going to be in this race until the end,” Black said.

Crunch all the numbers and it’s far from a sure thing Colorado can even make the playoffs. It might require 90 victories to earn a wild-card berth in the National League.

And, frankly, that’s less than a 50-50 proposition for the Rockies, even if Kyle Freeland and the rest of the starting rotation keep dealing. There are 20 regular-season series remaining on the schedule, and 16 of those will be against foes currently playing .500 or better baseball.

But here’s the deal: Nolan Arenado is in his prime, at his MVP best, and at this time next year, will he even be wearing a Rockies uniform? Or will Colorado decide to trade him during the winter, if Arenado is headed into 2019 with no contract extension and free agency is looming at the end of next season?

The time for Colorado to win is now. Even when the Broncos are battered and bruised from a last-place finish, John Elway doesn’t settle for the idea that championship contention is two or three years down the road.

Do the Rockies have the pedigree of the Yankees? No. Is Colorado an underdog in any discussion regarding the World Series? Yes. But so what?

It all starts with starting pitching. Isn’t that what the baseball poets always say?

Well, don’t listen to me. Take it from Gonzalez. Colorado has never rolled out better starting pitchers for a run at the postseason.

Yes, you can find rosters stocked with more talent, from Boston to Los Angeles. But with all due respect to the magic of Rocktober 2007, Colorado has never had a team better constructed for championship contention.

Having pried open the window of opportunity, the Rockies need to kick down the door.